Star Fox: Corruption
by floofbutt
Summary: Set after assault, a story of how Fox's team is forced into retirement by Corneria's crumbling government. With no one left to protect corneria, Fox takes on the job of becoming a vigil-anti, a super-hero, and rid corneria of crime. Some Fox/krys romance
1. Home coming

A/N: Hey, this is a fan fic I thought up one day- hope you enjoy it

**A/N:** Hey, this is a fan fic I thought up one day- hope you enjoy it. It's set right after star fox assault. I'm not gonna bother explaining the assault storyline, so play the game or you won't get what happened before my story takes place.

Disclaimer- star fox ain't mine, story is.

**STAR FOX: CORRUPTION**

Fox swept low over Corneria city in his battle damaged Arwing, smiling at the cheering crowds that had gathered below.

He and the rest of his team had just returned to their home planet after successfully destroying the aparoid homeworld and were now headed for the welcoming home comitee.

They had arrived just in time for a perfect Cornerian sunset.

Fox sighed in content as he gazed across his beloved home planet.

"It certainly is a beautiful sight, isn't it?" said Krystal, flying closer to Foxes right wing, though she wasn't looking at the scenery, but at Fox.

"Heh, yeah" said Fox nervously. _Was she flirting with me just then?_ He thought to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the annoyingly high-pitched voice of Slippy Toad crack over the intercom. "Fox! We're approaching the Corneria city capital!"

"Right," said Fox and then he added with a grin "I heard General Pepper fought his way out of the hospital to get here for the welcome home ceremony"

"That damn fool." Said Peppy Hare, shaking his head. "He's gonna get himself killed, he's so weak after the aparoids nearly assimilated him.

Fox chuckled then brought his arwing down for a smooth landing at the Cornerian city capital, which was a huge dome-shaped building, there was a red carpet spread out at the front of the building, and a large crowd was gathered in front of it. Fox hopped out of his arwing, when he hit the ground, his knees buckled and he toppled to the ground.

_Damn, I'm so tired, I hope they keep the speeches short… _he thought to himself.

"Here Fox, lemme help you up" said Krystal, offering a hand. She hoisted him onto his feet, unfortunately, she pulled with too much energy and when Fox was pulled up, their muzzles met.

Cameras flashed and there were many wolf whistles from the crowd watching. Fox and Krystal quickly broke apart, blushing madly.

"Jeez, can't you too wait till we're not in public?" came the voice of a smirking Falco.

"I- you- we weren't--!" Fox started to say, until he was interrupted by Peppy.

"Be quiet both of you! Here comes the general!" he hissed through clenched teeth.

Sure enough, General Pepper was hobbling up to the group, some cornerian council members were following him, looking concerned that the old hound may fall over.

"Well done! Well done, by dingy!" said General Pepper. "I knew you could do it! Thank goodness you survived!"

Fox winced as he was slapped on the back roughly by the General. "Barely" he said weakly.

"Yes, well- welcome back team star fox! I-" General Pepper started to say but the rest of his sentence was drowned out by the cry from the crowd:

"_SPEECH!! SPEECH FOX!!"_

General Pepper cracked a smile and invited Fox to stand up on the podium, Fox obliged.

"Thank you, thank you all!" Fox said, raising his hand to cease the noise. "It's been a long and hard journey, but I think I can speak for my entire crew when I say… it's good to be home!" his last sentence was greeted by thunderous applause.

The rest of the ceremony played out with long speeches from council members, thanking team star fox and talking of plans to rebuild corneria.

At the end of the ceremony, it was practically night, and corneria was illuminated with lights and billboards _(some reading: 'go star fox!' or 'welcome back!') _

"Well Fox, that's it for tonight, you'll be staying in the finest hotel we have to offer," began General Pepper "all expenses paid, of course" at the mention of this, Falco smirked. "Our mechanics will tend to your arwings. Also, there will be a feast in your honor and a rewards ceremony held the day after tomorrow. 'Till then, you're free to do as you please!"

"Thank you, General" said Fox, grateful that he would be getting the opportunity to rest, for he hadn't slept in days, being so preoccupied with the war against the Aparoids.

"Thank _you_" replied the General "if you need me before then-" he laughed "I'll be in the hospital, where I should have been tonight. Now good night, and good luck fighting your way through the crowd!"

Fox turned and groaned "Ah shit…" thousands of fans, no longer able to be held by the police, were charging towards the team and climbing all over their arwings, ripping off pieces of scrap, if they could, as souvenirs.

"RUN!" cried Slippy. Fox, Falco, SLippy and Krystal bolted in the opposite direction of the screaming fans, as Peppy and Pepper stood by and laughed.

"Heh, no one wants us old timers autographs anymore, huh?" Peppy chuckled.

"Yeah, I 'spect it's 'cu—" Pepper started to say before a council member tapped him on the shoulder and whispered something into his ear. Pepper frowned after the council member left, looking worried. "I… say, Peppy, meet me at the Galactic Café tomorrow, 3:00, would ya'?"

"I- sure." Said Peppy, blinking. He'd barely said the words when General Pepper hobbled off and soon disappeared into the crowd.


	2. A bad night

Chapter 2: A bad night

_**Chapter 2: A bad night**_

Fox was losing his wind, _this is crazy _he thoughthe'd lost most of his strength fighting the Aparoids, and now he was being chased by his own fans. _Ugh, I've never been caught by the fans once, it ain't happenin' today!_

Fox looked up, Slippy, Falco, and Krystal were a little far ahead of him, he put on an extra burst of speed and caught up with them just in time to hear Falco shout.

"SPLIT UP!" as he grabbed Slippy by the collar and hurled himself down an alleyway. Fox followed suite by grabbing Krystal by her hand, and diving into a separate alleyway. They ran down it until they came to a fence. "There's _always_ gotta be a fence" Fox sighed, as he jumped up and started climbing it.

He looked down to see how Krystal was fairing, she kept losing her footing and sliding back to the ground. By now, Fox was at the top of the fence, he leaned over and extended a hand to Krystal. "Grab on!" He shouted, she did, and using all his strength, Fox hauled her up ontop of the fence, however, as soon as Krystal was on top of the fence, several things happened at once. Fox lost his balance and toppled over. His shirt snagged on the top of the fence and ripped off as he fell to the ground and hit the pavement hard. Krystal fell over on the other side of the fence and landed in a trash can.

Fox looked up from the ground and saw the fans charging towards him, screaming with excitement.

_Ah well, they finally got me. Well, what's the worse they can do? Make me sign autographs? _Fox thought to himself, struggling to get to his feet. _At least Krystal escaped._

The crowd reached him and he was soon swept up against the side of the alley.

Lots of fan girls started screaming: "OH MY GAWSH! LOOK! IT'S FOX MCCLOUD!!"

Then Fox heard one girl scream "Look! I got his shirt!" she waved it in the air.

Fox looked down at his bare chest. _Ah damn, I forgot, it ripped_. He now looked over at Krystal, who was now standing on the other side of the fence giggling to herself.

"I'll meet you back at the hotel!" He called to her. She nodded, still smiling, and took off down the alley, before anyone else could notice her.

Fox turned his attention back to the crowd, surrounding him. "Listen folks, I'm kinda tired so-" He began but then was cut off.

"That girl got Foxes shirt!! I want it!!" There was a fight and Fox heard his shirt ripping, then suddenly the crowd closed in on him and started ripping at his clothes.

"HEY WAIT!" Fox yelped.

Pieces of paper were shoved at him for signing and he felt his pants and boots being shredded from all sides. _Dear goodness, I hafta get OUT of here! _He thought to himself.

Fox twisted on the spot and wrenched himself free of some of the hands, then he made a lunge for the fence, he quickly scaled half of it, but then someone made a grab for the one piece of clothing he had left- his boxers, he quickly slipped out of them and scaled the rest of the fence, quickly sliding to the ground below.

He ran down the alley, as he heard cameras flash behind him and several people yelling "WE LOVE YOU, FOXY!!"

Fox turned out of the alley and ran down the street, he saw the crowd emerging from the other side of the alley, so he dived into the nearest shop he could see.

He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as he leaned against the door. Grateful for this moment of refuge.

Then he opened his eyes. He was in a small donut shop, and everyone in there was staring at him, he looked down and blushed, now that the excitement was over, he realized he was completely naked.

He quickly slapped his hands down to the area around his crotch.

"Erm… uhm…" he said, looking around the small shop for an escape route. Seeing none, he slowly started backing away towards the door then he turned and ran out, at top speed.

_How the hell am I ever gonna make it to the hotel without being seen!? _He wondered.

Then he heard a voice. "…Fox?" he whipped around to see Katt Monroe.

"I—KATT!" Said Fox, blushing harder and bending over to try and cover himself more. "W-what are you doing here??"

She pointed down at a small hover-bike she was riding. "I was out for a midnight ride… What the hell are YOU doing here??" She asked with a smirk, looking Fox up and down. "Coming home from Krystal's apartment? I heard you two are really—"

"What- I- Krystal doesn't even have apart-- NO!!" Fox shouted, a little louder then he meant to, for he heard a stir from behind him. _Shoot, it's probably the fans again… "_Katt- I… I know this is weird, but can you give me a ride to the Corneria Grand Hotel??"

Katt smiled. "Sure, climb aboard, Captain Nudey" she pressed a button and an extra seat flipped out the back. Fox quickly jumped on it and she sped off down the street.

"So what WERE you doing?" She asked with a sly smile.

"Nothing! Heading for the hotel before the mob caught me!" shouted Fox over the wind.

"Mm-hmm" said Katt "Well maybe I'll come visit you guys sometime… Under a little better circumstances…" She chuckled, Fox blushed.

"So where've you been??" Fox asked, trying to change the subject

She sighed "Well, I wanted to help you fight the aparoids as soon as I heard about them, but then, cornerian forces commandeered my vessel in the name of the cornerian government, saying all ships must be put to use for the greater good." She rolled her eyes "That's like- the same thing I was gonna do anyway- ooh!" She turned left sharply.

"Fox, this is my favorite saloon, would you mind waiting on the hover car well I go in?" she asked.

"What-!!"

"Just kidding, heh heh, I wanted to see the look on your face. Well, here we are!" she said, coming to a quick stop that knocked Fox off the hover craft. "Have fun getting to your room" she said with a laugh, and then took off.

Fox, cupping his um, "privates", made his way to the hotel door. When he was inside, he walked up to the hotel's counter, where as luck would have it, a female concierge was working there. She was talking into a telephone. She looked up and her jaw dropped.

"Card key for room 517 please." Said Fox, in mortification.

The concierge just sat there for a moment before she recovered and said "Er… Name…?"

"Mcloud, Fox."

"Oh my gawsh!!" She shieked. "Can I get a picture for my gir—"

"No!" Fox said quickly, snatching up the card key. "Er, maybe later- I really gotta- yeah BYE!!" he bolted for the elevator.

Fox finally reached his room and knocked.

"'Bout time you got here McCl…" Falco began, then he stopped, gaping at Foxes appearance.

"Whatever it is you have to say, I don' wanna hear it…" Fox said, pushing his way in the room.

"Is that Fox..?" asked Krystal, walking into the room, then she saw Fox, gasped, and turned around, trying to fight a fit of giggles.

Fox blushed and quickly walked past a shocked Slippy and an amused Peppy and into his room, where he shut the door and finally got to bed.


	3. Gasp Shock!

Fox, was running through a hair saloon nude Katt was chasing him, trying to run him over on a hover bike then as they turned a corner everything disappeared but Fox

Fox, was running through a hair saloon nude Katt was chasing him, trying to run him over on a hover bike then as they turned a corner everything disappeared but Fox. Suddenly,General Pepper appeared and kept repeating "Fox… corneria will fall…"

"What are you talking about?!" Fox asked, annoyed because there was a loud thumping noise echoing in his brain.

General Pepper slowly drew a blaster and shot Fox in the crotch.

Fox awoke with a start, falling out of bed. The thumping sound continued echoing around his room, it took Fox a moment to realize it was coming from the door.

"HEY MCCLOUD! BREAKFAST IS ON THE TABLE!" Came Falco's voice through the door, as he continued to pound on it.

"All right, all right!" Fox shouted, rubbing his head, which he had smacked on the night stand. He quickly threw on a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt, and stepped outside his room.

Now that Fox had time to appreciate the hotel room he was staying in, he found it to be very nice- there was a plasma screen TV, a sauna, a hot tub, and an air hockey table, not to mention several other doors that led to who knows where.

Fox shuffled over to get a bowl of cereal, he sat down opposite of Krystal, she was smiling over at him, Fox blushed, and ducked behind his box of cereal, trying to forget last night's occurrences.

There was a slightly awkward silence for a few moments, then Falco said well smirking:

"So Fox, you checked out the paper today?" he slid the news across to Fox.

Fox leaned forward with interest, then was shocked by the headline and picture. It showed a picture of him and Krystal with their muzzles pressed together, the headline read: **FOXES GIRL? **In big bold letters. Underneath this was a picture of Fox standing in the alleyway stark naked. The caption for that was: **Fox gettin' lucky tonight?**

Fox looked up at everyone, Falco was laughing silently, Peppy was shaking his head at the table, Slippy seemed oblivious, and Krystal was turning a slight shade of pink.

"So Fox, you score big with your girlfriend??" Asked Falco, with a laugh.

Fox was about to fire back a retort when all of a sudden, a hologram appeared in the middle of the table- a staticy version of Pepper's head appeared.

"Strox!! Do yo rad e??" it said, bits of the sentence cut off from the static.

"Yes general, barely!" Said Peppy leaning forward to hear better.

" much tme!! You' bing " the signal died.

"General?? GENERAL PEPPER!" Fox shouted.

Fox quickly threw on a leather jacket. "I'm gonna go see what's happening!" he announced.

"Wait- I'm coming with you!" said Falco.

"So am I!" said Krystal fiercely.

"Wait, damnit!" shouted Peppy, everyone turned to him. "Our arwings are in the shop- we have no means of transportaion- and even if you could get to the hospital, which is some 15 miles away, the general probably won't be there!"

"Well then what the hell do we do!?" Fox said, pulling his hair in frustration.

"Well, let's start with contacting the hospital." Said Peppy, in a calm tone. He flicked a button, and soon a Dalmatian appeared on the HUD.

"Excuse me, miss." Said Peppy. "But may I speak to a Mr. Pepper, please?"

The Dalmatian looked at him blankly for a second. General Pepper is dead… He passed away this morning…

**A/N: Okay, I'm gonna get the plot rollin' now. Please R&R!!**


	4. The New General

Fox tore down the rain-splattered streets of Corneria, oblivious to what was going on around him, not listening or caring about what his team member's were calling after him as he ran

Fox tore down the rain-splattered streets of Corneria, oblivious to what was going on around him, not listening or caring about what his team member's were calling after him as he ran. He just knew he had to get to the hospital, to see for himself.

To know for sure.

Foxes fear drove him on, as he raced down the street, and within an hour, he had reached the Hospital.

When he reached his destination, he saw a crowd had formed around the doors to the hospital. He fished around in his pocket, and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, slipping them on. He wanted to keep a low profile after last night. But it didn't matter, no one cared that Fox McCloud was in their presence, they were all trying to push their way into the Hospital, to see if the rumours were true- to see if their beloved General was dead.

Fox pushed his way to the front of the crowd, where some security guards were trying to hold back the anxious mob.

"Get back, demmit! We told you, no one is allowed in to see the General's body! It's being removed!!" cried one of them as he bashed a Leopard with a club, who was trying to push the security guard against the wall.

A piece of the crowd backed away, in fear so Fox took this opportunity to step up.

"Let me through, I'm Fox McCloud!!" he shouted over the hum of the crowd.

"McCloud?" asked a bull dog security officer. "Can I see some ID?"

Fox stuffed his fists into his pants, reaching for his wallet. _Oh shit, I had my ID in my pants last night… _

Fox looked back up at the security officer helplessly.

The bulldog smirked "Yeah, you're Fox McCloud… And I'm Falco Lombardi." He snorted.

"No…" Came a familiar voice from behind him "You're not. But I am."

Fox turned around to see Falco, flashing his ID at the officer, who was gaping at him.

"And the fox is with me." he added.

A few minutes later, Fox and Falco were running up the stairs of the hospital, to General Pepper's room.

"Wouldn't ya' know?" Falco panted "They had 'im on the top floor?"

But Fox didn't say anything, he just bent over double, tearing up the stairs in a flat out run.

When they finally reached the top of the staircase, they took a left and ran down a narrow hallway, finally to a door which they knew to be the Generals- labeled G-17.

Once Fox reached the door, he sagged a little, now that he was there, he wasn't sure he wanted to see. In this period of time that he paused, he felt a wave of exhaustion crash over him, he had just run over 15 miles without a break. He groped for something to lean on.

Then he felt a hand grab him by the shoulder, he looked over and saw Falco, flash a grim smile at him and give a reassuring nod. Despite the teasing, Fox really considered Falco to be the brother he never had.

He nodded wearily at Falco, and then reached for the door knob, and flung the door open.

Fox stepped into a large room, on a hospital bed, Fox saw the General's corpse, lying motionless and pale. Also in the room, Fox saw a hound dog, wearing a green Cornerian military officer's uniform, who was talking to an enormous and muscular grey husky. The only other person in the room was a nurse who pulled a white sheet over the Generals head.

Fox took all this in within a few seconds, and then he noticed everyone in the room look up as he walked in. He said nothing, only stood there, too shocked to speak.

The silence was broken by the hound dressed in green.

"Ah, Mr. McCloud, Mr. Lombardi. I thought you might be coming here… There are, um, certain things I must discuss with yo--"

He could not finish because at that moment, the door crashed open, and there stood a breathless Krystal and Slippy.

"H-hey Fox," said Slippy in between pants. "W-we took a cab h-here and…"

His voice trailed off when he saw the hospital bed with the sheet pulled over it. Krystal's eyes welled up with tears, and she jumped to Fox, sobbing on his shoulder.

Fox, though slightly surprised, rubbed her back, trying to calm her, though he felt a great lump rising in his throat.

Suddenly, the hound gave a loud cough, and the two broke apart, a little embarrassed, Krystal realized what she had done and turned a little pink.

"Thank you." Said the hound, curtly "Now as I was saying, Pepper's unexpected and very tragic death changes things…"

Fox frowned a little, the hound did not seem to sound very sincere with his words. However, he seemed not to notice, probably due to the fact Fox was still wearing his pair of sun glasses, and continued on.

"You see,- oh I'm sorry, I'm afraid I've neglected to introduce myself, I am Captain Shears, I did some military work over on Titania during the aparoid war- anyhow, seeing as it is the unanimous decision of the Cornerian council, I have been chosen to be the new General of the Cornerian army."

Fox wasn't sure what to say to this, he didn't know if he liked Shears, but then, he had only known him for several seconds…

"And now, as my first act as new general, I choose to disband team star fox." He said, with a small grin.

Foxes eyes widened with shock. "W-what!!" he said, his voice was hoarse because of the large lump in his throat. His other teammates just stared, with bulging eyes.

"Under- what- what gives you the authority--?!" Falco shouted angrily.

"Temper, temper…" said Shears shaking his head, Fox thought Shears was almost enjoying himself. "Do you know what happened to the great fox- the expensive piece of machinery that was built by Cornerian mechanics? _You blew the damn thing up_."

"What ch-" Krystal began but was cut off.

"Also!" said Shears, raising his voice "You're arwings have been commandeered for the military. Don't worry though, we'll still be having your _grand _award ceremony, and you'll still be compensated for completing your mission."

"This is unacceptable." said Fox, glaring at Shears.

"On the contrary, I believe I'm being very Generous." said Shears, smirking. "In fact, I've been so kind as to arrange for you to stay into your hotel until you people find jobs or settle down or something… Oh, and our dear General Pepper's funeral will be held the day after the party."

Shears paused a moment.

"Also, I believe I'll be taking your blasters, you won't be needing them, I'm sure." He motioned towards the giant husky standing behind him. "Strip search them."

After each member of the team had suffered the indignity of being dragged off into a separate room and stripped down to the fur in front of Shears by the muscular husky, Shears insisted that they be driven back to the motel in his hover craft.

Once they pulled up to the motel, Fox got out of the limo as quickly as he could, fuming with rage.

"Well Foxy," said Shears, rolling down the window and looking out at Fox. "Take care of yourself." He extended his hand, Fox did not shake it.

Shears seemed to turn pale for a moment, and then smiled saying. "See you tomorrow, at the celebration." And with that he drove off.

Fox and the rest of the team trudged back into the hotel, and went back up to their room, where Peppy was waiting.

Peppy looked troubled when they came in, and after they told him what happened, he was simply shocked.

He shook his head, "The whole story about how the team is being disbanded due to the fact I blew up the great fox is ridiculous. They're just selling that to the public, there has to be a reason for it…"

Fox raised his eyebrows. "You're talking about a conspiracy?"

"I dunno Fox…" He said, cupping his head in his hands. Peppy was thinking about how the General had asked to meet him at the café at 3:00, and how General Pepper had called them moments before they found out he died.


	5. The midnight walk

Fox lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling

Fox lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. The days events had passed by so quickly, it all seemed to blur.

He glanced over at the alarm clock sitting on his bed stand—1:37.

_I'm never gonna get to sleep. _He decided and got up, grabbing his jacket and sneaking out of the hotel room as quietly as he could, so not to awake anyone.

Fox trotted to the elevator and rode it to the bottom level of the hotel.

There Fox saw the same female concierge that was working there last night. She looked up and smiled eagerly.

"Oh! Mr. McCloud! Do you have time for that autograph??" She asked.

"Ah, sure." He said, drawing a pen from his jeans pocket and signing the scrap of paper that she pushed at him.

"Thanks" she said breathlessly. "So… Where are you going? Not checking out, are you??"

"Uh, no. Just out for a breath of fresh air and a midnight stroll." said Fox trying to smile. He turned and walked out the hotel's wide doors.

As soon as he stepped out into the night, he was bombarded by raindrops.

"It's supposed to rain like this all week! Can you believe it?" called the concierge from her desk.

Fox was barely listening. He bent his head down and walked out into the downpour, not really caring where he was going.

After awhile he found himself wandering towards a small café. He looked up at the sign on the door- _the galactic café: open all night_

He stepped inside it and shrugged off some of the raindrops clinging to his jacket. He looked up to see a raccoon standing behind a desk. The raccoon spotted Fox and smiled friendlily.

"Oh, hello! The names Ricky-- We don't usually get customers this late- what can I get you?" he asked

"Um… I dunno… Earl Grey?" said Fox

"Sure thing." Said Ricky, as he started to pour Fox a cup.

Just then, the door slammed open and two cornerian military officers walked in.

"There's no cause for alarm." One of them said, seeing Fox and Ricky's surprised expressions. "We're just searching the premises for any weapons. Under order of General Shears- the right to bear arms has been eradicated."

"Weapons?!" Ricky shouted furiously. "Just what the--??"

One of the officers, the taller of the two, walked up to the raccoon and slapped him across the face with the but end of his gun.

"HEY!" Fox shouted. But before he could do anything, the officer turned and gave Fox a blow to the stomach with his bare fist, knocking the wind out of him.

Fox fell to the floor, cradling his bruised ribs, as the two officers went around the café smashing all objects to the ground, searching for any firearms.

After a few minutes of thoroughly checking the place, one of them walked up to the raccoon, and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground.

"Was former-general Pepper in this café early yesterday?" he snarled. "Answer me, damn you!"

"N-no…" he croaked.

The officer threw the creature to the ground.

"Okay, this place is clean. Make sure it stays that way, Ricky." The other officer said, and they both left.

Fox staggered to his feet, filled with rage. He had just seen an innocent civilian be beaten by cornerian officers for no reason. _What the hell is happening to this palce?!_ He thought.

"You okay?" Fox asked, bending down to help up the raccoon.

"Y-yeah…" said Ricky, rubbing his throat.

Fox looked out the window and saw the officers walking into another shop. Suddenly, Fox felt the urge to do something, and then an idea came into his head and he knew what he had to do.

"Here." said Fox, tossing a wad of cash into the raccoon's lap. "Try and fix this place up."

Fox stood up, and walked out the door into the rain.

**A/N: **Whoa, just read my first review and it's from the writer of lifting the kurse- thanks Str8shot! Keep up your awesome fan fic! And sorry this chapter was short, but I'm pressed for time. Until next time, please R&R!!


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